Inon Barnatan - Darknesse Visible - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Three major works for piano and orchestra by English composers, all eschewing the traditional nineteenth-century model of a bravura virtuoso soloist pitted against an orchestra, in distinctive ways. Together with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under George Vass, Clare Hammond presents an original programme that provides a unique perspective on how the piano concerto reflected musical currents in mid-twentieth-century Britain.William Walton's Sinfonia Concertante for Orchestra with Piano Obbligato began as a ballet score. After it was rejected by Sergei Diaghilev, Walton arranged his scoreinto a leaner, more direct and more effective work thatreveals the influences of Stravinsky, Poulenc, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin and, at times, Elgar. Benjamin Britten's Diversions was commissioned by the left-hand pianist Paul Wittgenstein. Enthusiastic about the challenge of writing for the left hand, Britten devised a work in variation form; he did not seek to conceal the soloist's one-handedness, but revelled in it while still retaining emotion and grandeur. Michael Tippett's Piano Concerto completes the programme. Inspired by a performance of Beethoven's Fourth Concerto, Tippett was convinced that a contemporary concerto could be written, 'in which the piano is used once again for it's poetic capabilities'. In his work, the orchestra does not merely accompany; the principal players shine when they get their opportunity for solos or close dialogue with the soloist.

Inon Barnatan presents Rachmaninoff Reflections, offering some of the composer's most cherished piano works, including his Moments musicaux, Prelude in G-Sharp Minor and Barnatan's own arr angement of the Vocalise. Centrepiece of this project is Barnatan's breathtaking new piano arrangement of the Symphonic Dances. Inon Barnatan is one of the most admired pianists of his generation (New York Times). His Pentatone discography consists of Time Traveler's Suite (2021), Beethoven's complete cello sonatas with Alisa Weilerstein (2022), as well as complete recordings of Beethoven's piano concertos together with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and Alan Gilbert (2019 and 2020)

Alisa Weilerstein and Inon Barnatan present Brahms' two Cello Sonatas, alongside their arrangement of his Violin Sonata in G Major on the cello. This Brahms portrait is a logical next step after the duo's acclaimed interpretation of Beethoven's complete Cello Sonatas, released in 2022. While Beethoven's sonatas reveal the gradual ascendancy of the cello as the proper solo instrument over the piano, Brahms opens a new chapter in the history of the cello sonata, realizing a glorious marriage of equals between the two instruments. This congenial relationship between cello and piano is further enhanced by Weilerstein and Barnatan, whose musical partnership (in addition to their thriving solo careers) has been a stable factor over the years.Since signing an exclusive contract with PENTATONE, Alisa Weilerstein has released Transfigured Night (2018) as well as Bach's Cello Suites (2020), while also featuring on Old Souls (2019) and Inon Barnatan's Beethoven Piano Concertos Part 1 (2019), on which she performed the composer's Triple Concerto. This album was part of Inon Barnatan's complete Beethoven piano concertos recordings on PENTATONE, of which Part 2 appeared in 2020. 2021 saw the of his solo album Time Traveler's Suite, while Rachmaninoff Reflections appeared in 2023, followed by Darknesse Visible in 2024. Brahms Cello Sonatas is the second PENTATONE album by Weilerstein and Barnatan. Their interpretation of Beethoven's complete Cello Sonatas appeared on the tag in 2022.